Do you remember

the way it felt

the first time you saw the ocean?

The first time you felt

the sand between your toes?

The first time you jumped into a crashing wave?

The first time you realized how small you are...

... and how big God is?

"Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name."

Amos 9:6

One of Those Days

This morning, mama was crabby. The sun didn't show up for work. The messes kept multiplying. The boys were getting on each other's nerves. I didn't feel like doing a single thing on my To Do list. Chilly Charlie was not so chilly... the monitor shook with sobs each time I laid him down for a nap. Sam got mad at me and decided to do his snipping practice under the kitchen table.

I felt like flagging down the school bus and shoving all three of them on :-).

SOOO... we went for Fro Yo.

Frozen chocolate deliciousness with crushed Reese Cups, hot fudge, and whip cream to the rescue. It didn't make everything perfect... but it made everything sooooo much better.

Mama said there'd be days like this... and when there's days like this, we'll head for Yum.

Three Months Old!

Charlie, you are three months old and on the move! I had a hard time even getting a good shot of you as you waved your little arms and kicked your chubby little legs this morning.

You are our bright-eyed boy... no more sleeping all day for you! When school is in session you like to be in the front row, kicking away in your bouncy seat. You almost seem to get lonely when you're up in your room by yourself.

We think you're so used to the noise and craziness of your three older siblings that too much quiet makes you sad... you definitely think that Chloe, Max, and Sam hung the moon - especially Chloe. I've always subscribed to the belief that you reap what you sow in relationships, and boy is she reaping the rewards of her sweet devotion to you... she gets the biggest smiles in the family these days!

You are a calm, peaceful, happy little guy, taking the world in stride.

We have taken to calling you "Chilly," because of your sweet spirit. You have filled a hole in our family that we didn't know existed until you came along. You bring us so much joy sweet boy.

 

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him."  Luke 2:40 

Summer Behind the Scenes

It's Labor Day. It's in the mid-sixties and raining, and summer is going, going... just about gone.  Herewith, a few of my favorite summer memories that never made it to the blog.

 

First day of Kidsfest 2011! Chloe has been waiting for this day for years - finally old enough for Kidsfest!

Meeting her leaders Lena and Leah...

Kidsfest craziness...

 The Ballet at Hartwood. We carpooled this year with Kristi and Anna Lyn and Melissa, Megan and Katie. It was great fun!

Max prepares to go scuba diving in the Bozeks' pool.

This boy loves the water...

...and this one doesn't.

Next year: no more floaties!!

Silly swimming girls.

Leaps of joy with Ryan and Brooke.

 End of the summer pool party at the Sheldons.

Ummm, how many more kids can we fit in this pool?

 Time for the group picture...

Trying to get everyone in the shot while making sure that no one drowns is harder than it looks. 

So long, Summer of 2011. Time for school, sweatshirts, and Steeler games!

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

We Are Family

Cousin [kuhz-uhn]: noun

1) the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.

2) one related by descent in a diverging line from a known common ancestor, as from one's grandparent or from one's father's or mother's sister or brother.

3) a kinsman or kinswoman; relative.

4) a person or thing related to another by similar natures, languages, geographical proximity, etc


This summer, the kids' and I had the privilege of discovering the meaning of the word cousin in a much more profound way than the uncreative Mr. Webster came up with. In the middle of July, my sister traveled to Pittsburgh from Georgia with her seven children to meet Charlie and celebrate James' first birthday. Two weeks later, Greg's brother and sister-in-law traveled from Ithaca with their three little ones to meet Charlie. The moments of those visits passed as quickly as the flash of the camera that tried to capture them, as my children laughed and danced and slept snuggled up with these cousins they see too rarely and yet share so much with.

Emily & Chloe enjoying "Girls Night Out"

 Sisters enjoying it as much as the girls. These two are my closest friends in the world, and I am so, so grateful that God chose them to be my sweet sisters. We have been through thick and thin together and will forever have each other's backs. I don't know what I would do without them.

 We went to Yum for some fro-yo after the girls' mani/pedis, and they found an outdoor stage that they entertained us on.

Sweet Hailey meeting Charlie. This little girl's heart is as big as her smile.

Mischievous Hannah meeting Charlie. This little girl's personality is as big as her smile!

Darling Tyler meeting Charlie. He reminds us so much of his Daddy. 

After everyone's visits, I decided to come up with my own definition of the word cousin.

Cousin [kuhz-uhn]: noun (and often verb, and sometimes adjective)

1) A fort-building, sleeping bag-toting, trampoline-jumping, outdoor stage-dancing, ice cream-loving, movie night-watching, nearly perfect companion, whose visit you wait for as if he was Santa Clause or she was the Tooth Fairy.
2) An indulger of too much junk food, too little sleep, and the inevitable tantrums that follow.
3) A little boy with the same pirate's grin and gentle spirit as his dad.
4) A little girl who looks and talks so much like her mama that as you listen to her you're suddenly five years old and whispering to your older sister in the backyard of your hundred-year-old house on 17th street.
5) Kids that share the same grandparents and great-grandparents, the same eye shape and history. The same blood is running through their veins, and the same character flaws, handed down from generation to generation, will rear their ugly heads as they grow older and learn to overcome them.
6) Family. Honest-to-goodness, unchangeable, unshakeable family. God's handcrafted, carefully chosen creation; His gift to each one of us to sustain us and bring us joy. There is almost nothing in life more important than that.

"But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children’s children."

Psalm 103:17

Sweet Caroline

I'm trying to get the last posts of our 2010/2011 school year organized and ready to publish on the blog before Labor Day. We officially started our new school year two weeks ago, and I need to finish up last year so I can start chronicling this year. Will I ever catch up???  Until then, enjoy these photos of the lovely Caroline getting snuggled by her Nana when she visited in July.  She is delicious.

Sweet Caroline...

 good times never seemed so good.
I've been inclined
to believe they never would.

 (from Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline)

Summer Fridays with Daddy

Greg's company does something awesome for their employees called "Summer Fridays." Each Friday between July 4th and Labor Day, Greg has been able to come home from work around lunch time, and it's amazing how a few extra hours can make your weekend seem so much longer. We've tried to do special things with the kids as much as possible, and they have been blessed with trips to the zoo, lazy afternoons at the park, and "soccer camp and milk shakes" with their Dad. We only have two left, and I am very, very sad :-). We're really going to miss him on Friday afternoons this Fall...  Here are some memories of their Friday adventures with Daddy:

Getting up close and personal with sharks...

 

 

Holding a snake... Yikes!

Racing through the treetops...

Meeting a kangaroo...

 Riding a pretend elephant...

... and then seeing the real thing!

Becoming Spiderman....

 ...and a princess on a pony...

... and a cowboy on his horse...

Some men spend their summer Fridays on the golf course, or in front of the TV, or on a conference call that could have waited until Monday. 

I am so grateful that Greg's only thought is to spend it with his kids.

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

Galatians 6:7-8